Singapore lawmakers reject motion to suspend minister Iswaran from parliament

Singapore: Singapore's lawmakers have rejected a motion by an opposition party to suspend Transport Minister S Iswaran, under investigation for graft charges, from parliament and voted instead to consider the matter when the probes against him conclude.

During a two-hour debate on Tuesday, Leader of the House Indranee Rajah said the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) would consider a clawback of Iswaran's MP allowance if justified, such as if he is given criminal charges.

The Progress Singapore Party's (PSP) motion had called for Iswaran to be suspended as an MP for the remainder of the current session of parliament.

He was arrested in July and is under investigation by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB). The investigation relates to F1 races being hosted in Singapore.

But Indranee filed a counter-motion for parliament to consider the matter when the outcome of the ongoing investigation against Iswaran is known.

PAP MPs voted for Indranee's motion while the PSP's two Non-Constituency MPs – Hazel Poa and Leong Mun Wai – voted for their own motion, according to a Channel News Asia report.

All eight opposition MPs from the Workers' Party (WP) voted for the PAP's motion and against the PSP.

Poa said she was filling the PSP motion so that Iswaran would no longer receive the MP allowance while he was not performing his duties whether in parliament or in his West Coast constituency.

"This motion is therefore about the prudent use of taxpayers' money, not a presumption of guilt," she said.

She also filed a second motion for permission to introduce a Private Member's Bill proposing amendments to the Parliament (Privileges, Immunities and Powers) Act so that Iswaran could be reimbursed for his MP's allowance if cleared of any wrongdoing.

Indranee's counter-motion, meanwhile, also affirmed the need for MPs to uphold integrity and conduct themselves lawfully and the need to deal firmly and fairly with any MP being investigated for possible wrongdoing.

After his arrest, Iswaran was instructed to take a leave of absence. He has been interdicted from duty with a reduced pay of SGD 8,500 (USD 6,200) a month. He continues to draw the full annual MP allowance of SGD 1,92,500.